


smoke on the parapets

by screechfox



Series: vampire de rolos [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Internal Monologue, Orthax Broods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 02:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14274819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screechfox/pseuds/screechfox
Summary: In the darkness, Orthax seethes with anger.





	smoke on the parapets

**Author's Note:**

> this won't make much sense if you haven't read the first fic in the series, just fyi
> 
> i was looking through the original document for this series and i forgot i had this little interlude lying around (the original outline had an interlude between every two chapters). i didn't want to post it originally because i felt it would have left the main fic feeling too open-ended, but i figured i ought to put it up, because i do actually quite like it, short as it is
> 
> i do want to write more of this series, at some point, but my brain is a mess X(

In the darkness, Orthax seethes with anger.

Percival had seemed to have potential. He was clever enough to make use of Orthax’s gifts, and volatile enough to be pushed into acting on them. The darkness had suited him well - had all gone to plan, Orthax would have had him as a willing weapon within a few more months.

Perhaps his first mistake was allowing Cassandra de Rolo’s name to inscribe itself on the barrel of the gun.

Perhaps his first mistake was thinking that Percival could be pushed so far, so quickly.

Or perhaps his first mistake was choosing someone who wanted revenge on a vampire.

It’s hard to tell, in hindsight, and Orthax doesn’t really care for the past. What’s important is the future. He needs to adapt to the bleak situation he’s found himself in.

The undead are far harder to influence than regular mortals, and Percival now fits firmly into that category. With Sylas Briarwood’s hold over his mind, it’s as though Orthax is a mere wisp of smoke, about to fade into the ether at any moment.

All the while, he’s still bound to the boy, unable to escape from the terms of their deal.

There is a little bit of hope, though; a chance for Orthax to regain some of his hold. Doctor Ripley still lives, after all, and there should be no vampiric objections to _her_ death.

In the meantime, he sits in a shadowed corner of Percival’s mind, and _waits_.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> as always, you can find me at screechfoxes on tumblr


End file.
